Find out how popular the last name Faria is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Faria.

Faria, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Faria surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Faria in America

Faria is the 5557th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Faria surname appeared 6,257 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Faria.

We can also compare 2010 data for Faria to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Faria

The surname Faria is of Portuguese origin and has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula. It is believed to have emerged during the medieval period, possibly derived from the Latin word "fara," which means a group or family. This surname may have been initially used to identify individuals associated with a particular family, clan, or lineage.

In Portugal, the name Faria can be traced back to the 12th century, with records indicating its presence in various regions, including the northern provinces of Minho and Trás-os-Montes. It was also prevalent in the central region of Beira and the southern regions of Alentejo and Algarve.

One of the earliest known historical references to the name Faria can be found in the "Livro Velho de Linhagens" (Old Book of Lineages), a Portuguese genealogical record dating back to the 13th century. This document mentions several individuals bearing the surname Faria, indicating its establishment during that time.

The name Faria has also been linked to various place names in Portugal, such as Faria, a parish in the municipality of Barcelos, and Faria, a civil parish in the municipality of Castelo de Paiva. These place names may have influenced the surname's origin or contributed to its spread across different regions.

Among the notable historical figures with the surname Faria are:

1. Pedro Faria e Sousa (1580-1644), a Portuguese nobleman and military commander who played a significant role in the Portuguese Restoration War against Spain.
2. Manuel Severim de Faria (1583-1655), a Portuguese historian and writer who authored several works on Portuguese history and genealogy.
3. Bartolomeu Faria (1610-1668), a Portuguese Jesuit missionary and explorer who traveled extensively in South America and wrote accounts of his journeys.
4. Francisco Leite de Faria (1695-1748), a Portuguese architect and engineer known for his contributions to the reconstruction of Lisbon after the devastating earthquake of 1755.
5. Francisco de Faria e Maia (1680-1756), a Portuguese jurist and academic who served as the rector of the University of Coimbra.

Over the centuries, the surname Faria has spread beyond Portugal to other parts of the world, particularly to former Portuguese colonies and territories where Portuguese settlers and immigrants established roots.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Faria

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Faria.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Faria was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Faria has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Faria was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Faria, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!